NLM DIR Seminar Schedule

Abstract:

The emergence and evolution of the first biologically functional macromolecules are central to understanding the origin of life, one of the most challenging problems in the history of science. The lack of molecular fossils from the primordial events makes many hypotheses about the emergence of the first elements of life unfalsifiable and speculative. Simulating molecular evolution from first principles can help us better understand the chemistry-to-biology transition and generate testable hypotheses. The All-atom Molecular Evolution Simulator (AMES) is designed to simulate the evolution of biological polymers and their complexes under various conditions. Using AMES, we demonstrate how the first protein-RNA complexes could have emerged from random sequences and the importance of these interactions in the origin of life.